tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143866771442228551.post161462864840573274..comments2016-05-11T09:40:35.798+02:00Comments on Cerebral Mastication: A Pinchbeck ParableAli Arikanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02293558856795196349noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143866771442228551.post-48689007440950730292009-02-26T05:35:00.000+02:002009-02-26T05:35:00.000+02:00Of course Fincher couldn't have given us a man-siz...Of course Fincher couldn't have given us a man-sized baby at the end--- such imagery is too bizarre for the literal minded Fincher, who feels the need to trivialize the fantastical by constantly making it 'believable'.Ryan Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18054550377681273142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143866771442228551.post-83613872239825465352009-02-16T17:42:00.000+02:002009-02-16T17:42:00.000+02:00Also, shouldn't he have ended up as a giant baby b...Also, shouldn't he have ended up as a giant baby by the end of the film? Kind of like a demented Baby Huey...Ali Arikanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02293558856795196349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143866771442228551.post-64752803454594727042009-02-16T12:28:00.000+02:002009-02-16T12:28:00.000+02:00Edward - I agree. The desparate way the film tugs...Edward - I agree. The desparate way the film tugs at the heartstrings was incredibly off-putting. That last montage where you see all the characters from his life with Benjamin's tepid voiceover was especially grating.<BR/><BR/>I think the film could have worked with a more whimsical director (as I also agree in the post). Someone like Michel Gondry (and I detest Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Pants).<BR/><BR/>Kevin - You remember that bit where Wes Bentley looks at a plastic bag floating in the air and goes off on one? Multiply that by a hundred, my friend.Ali Arikanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02293558856795196349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143866771442228551.post-58629771100774775362009-02-16T09:33:00.000+02:002009-02-16T09:33:00.000+02:00Okay --- So I haven't seen the film, so I can't re...Okay --- So I haven't seen the film, so I can't really comment in depth here....but what a great post. I especially loved the line about how we all know that American Beauty is shit now. Indeed. I remember being a senior in high school and thinking than AB was such an amazing piece of art. I saw it like four times in the theater. Now, I'm bored by its sitcomy approach towards darkly comic subject matter.<BR/><BR/>I can imagine high school kids thinking highly of Benjamin Button or (gulp) Slumdog Millionaire because of the way they 'visualize' their allegories...<BR/><BR/>Bah! Thank the film gods we all grow up and learn from our mistakes.<BR/><BR/>It sounds like Eric Roth owes John Hughes some royalties....wasn't there a guy in The Great Outdoors that always got struck by lightning, and told people about it at the local bar?Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6143866771442228551.post-27604712390597968392009-02-16T04:18:00.000+02:002009-02-16T04:18:00.000+02:00I felt something was too cold about Benjamin Butto...I felt something was too cold about Benjamin Button and after I read the original Fitzgerald story, it was obvious to me too. The whole film was built toward tearjerking, sacrificing the satire and rascally humor as a result. It seemed to me they forced it on to the Forrest Gump template (also written by Eric Roth) which also purified an edgier, dirtier character from its literary source when they took him to the screen though at least Gump kept a lot of laughs.Edward Copelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12463676135131274426noreply@blogger.com